Playoff-Like AtmosphereThe past few seasons, this weekend road trip for the No. 8/9 Quinnipiac women's ice hockey team has only added in its significance to all three teams involved and the 2013-14 season is certainly no different. The Bobcats will travel eight hours to upstate New York where they will take on a pair of opponents who both hold the key to postseason positioning. The weekend's first game will pit Quinnipiac against the one of the hottest teams in college hockey in the No. 3 Clarkson Golden Knights. Currently riding a 10-game unbeaten streak (9-0-1), Clarkson enters the weekend as the highest-ranked ECAC Hockey team and with the hottest player in the country in Jamie Lee Rattray who has amassed 12 points in her last four games. St. Lawrence, meanwhile, sits two points behind Quinnipiac in fifth place in the ECAC Hockey standings. With their first meeting back in November ending in a 1-1 tie, a win on Saturday would give the team two points as well as a crucial tiebreaker should these two sides be tied for conference points at the end of the season. With only six games remaining in the regular season, every game takes on an added significance and this weekend certainly is no different than the rest.

All-Time Against the Golden KnightsOne of the consistent powers in the ECAC Hockey, Quinnipiac has struggled in the all-time series history with Clarkson as they enter the weekend 5-17-2 all-time against the Golden Knights. Their biggest triumph was undoubtedly the 2012 ECAC Hockey Tournament in which they upset the No. 3 seed Clarkson from Cheel Arena, winning two out of three games to claim the First Round series victory. Since that series, the Bobcats have struggled mightily to score goals as they've just put one goal past Erica Howe in their last three meetings and gone 166:55 straight minutes without scoring against the Golden Knights. They have challenged the Golden Knights from Cheel Arena, however, as they've won two of the last four meetings from Potsdam. Their last meeting on the road nearly ended in a scoreless draw but a Carly Mercer tally with seven seconds remaining pushed the Golden Knights past the Bobcats, 1-0.

Scouting No. 3 ClarksonThis 2013-14 Golden Knight squad has one of the most impressive resumes in all of Division I to-date as they own a record of 21-4-3 with a 12-2-2 mark in the ECAC Hockey. They own the nation's second-longest unbeaten streak, trailing only No. 1 Minnesota, which has a span of 10 games (9-0-1). The Golden Knights have slowly climbed up the national ranking leaderboard and just reached their highest mark of the season on Monday, earning the No. 3 ranking in the USCHO.com poll. One of the only blemishes on their resume is their record against ranked teams as they currently stand below .500 (3-4-1) in eight games this season against ranked opponents. They have dismantled opponents during their unbeaten streak as they've outscored the competition by a combined score of 42-11. Senior forward Jamie Lee Rattray has got up the national leaderboard and is currently leads the country with 48 points (25 goals, 23 assists). Rattray has won consecutive ECAC Hockey Player of the Week honors as she has amassed 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists) over the last four games, including a five-point outburst (one goal, four assists) in a 5-0 win over Union last weekend. Not only are the Golden Knights feature one of the nation's elite scorers at the forward position, they also own the country's highest-scoring defenseman in sophomore Erin Ambrose. She has blossomed into the nation's premier scorer along the blue line with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists) through 28 games including six power-play tallies. No other defenseman in the nation has more than 26 points which puts Ambrose in a company all to her own when talking about scoring defensemen. Among Clarkson's other remaining weapons include a threesome of seniors with Carly Mercer (11-24-35), Brittany Styner (9-26-35) and Vanessa Gagnon (12-13-25) all completing Clarkson's list of top five scorers. Manning the goal is their senior netminder and two-time defending ECAC Hockey Goalie of the Year Erica Howe. The Bobcats have been able to put only one goal past Howe in their last three meetings, with the last two ending in shutouts. Howe has once again put up some dominant numbers as she has started every game this season for the Golden Knights and owns a 1.08 goals against average and .941 save percentage. She also leads the nation with 10 shutouts, benefitting significantly from Clarkson's defenders who allow the fewest shots-on-goal (18.3 per game) of any team in the nation.

All-Time Against the SaintsThe Bobcats and Saints have mirrored each other for the better part of the last five seasons as they've met 12 times, all of which have been decided by two goals or less. Four of those meetings have gone into overtime, including the thrilling three overtime affair in game two of the 2013 ECAC Hockey First Round series between the two teams. Throughout their 20 all-time meetings, the Bobcats have gone 6-11-3 overall but are 6-3-3 in the last 12 meetings. Despite the prolonged success, recently Quinnipiac has had difficulty coming through with a win as they are 1-2-2 in the last five games against the Saints.

Scouting St. LawrenceThe Saints have surged up the conference standings, currently sitting a mere two points behind the Bobcats in the ECAC Hockey heading into the weekend. St. Lawrence was riding a five-game unbeaten streak at the start of the week but fell to Syracuse on the road, 3-0, to break up their best run of the season. They come into the weekend with a 9-15-3 record but have picked it up in conference with an 8-5-3 record, including a five-game unbeaten streak in ECAC Hockey play. Despite their losing record, St. Lawrence frequently faces one of the toughest schedules in the country and this season was no different as they took on Boston College, Mercyhurst, Robert Morris and Clarkson twice each in non-conference competition and came away from without a victory in those eight matchups. They've faced a difficult time with ranked competition this season as they stand 0-12-2 against ranked opponents in 2013-14 and 9-3-1 against all unranked foes. The Saints are constructed from the back line and up as their goaltending has solidified with junior Carmen McDonald. Forced to miss five games at the beginning of the season due to injury, McDonald has returned and made an immediate impact with her 9-9-3 record, 2.05 GAA and .934 save percentage. A steady contributor throughout her three-year career, McDonald has flashed signs of brilliance this season with a 51-save effort in a 1-1 tie against Cornell as well as a 46-save performance in another 1-1 tie against Quinnipiac back on Nov. 22. Another one of the Saints' calling cards is their strong defensive senior tandem of Mel Derochers and Dayle Wilkinson. Derochers makes the Saints one of just two teams in the country who have a defenseman as their leading scorer. Not only does Desrochers lead St. Lawrence in points (26) but she also shares the lead for goals on the team with Rylee Smith (eight) and owns a commanding lead on the team with 18 assists. Her shot from the point is paired with linemate Wilkinson (4-9-13) who combine for the second-highest scoring defensive tandem in the nation behind Clarkson's Erin Ambrose and Vanessa Plante. Rounding out the Saint attack is their forward unit headlined by senior Rylee Smith (8-11-19), who has amassed 119 career points (49-70-119) to her name. A pair of freshmen follow Smith to make up their list of top five scorers in Brooke Webster (7-10-17) and Alex Moore (6-7-13).

Last Time OutThe Bobcats met up with Dartmouth and then-No. 3/5 Harvard for a weekend matchup at home and came away with a solid total of three points in the two games. They started the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Dartmouth to claim the season series against the Big Green for just the second time in program history. The Bobcats went down early, allowing Dartmouth to lit the lamp first, but they scored three unanswered goals in the last 21 minutes of play to claim the come-from-behind victory. In Saturday's Top 10 matchup against Harvard, the Bobcats were able to put two goals past the nation's second-stingiest defense but also allowed a pair as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

Comeback KidsThe Bobcats' 3-1 come-from-behind victory over Dartmouth on Friday was their sixth such victory of the season and also the second time this season in which they've come back from a 1-0 deficit in the second period or later.

Undefeated StreaksThrough 28 games this season, the Bobcats have made a living out of scoring first, entering the weekend with a 11-0-4 record when scoring the game's first goal. Their success in the early periods as also paid dividends late in the game as the Bobcats are 12-0-3 this season when holding a lead entering the third period.

Milestone MarkerQuinnipiac's 3-1 victory over Dartmouth was the Bobcats' 17th of the season and 100th in five-plus seasons for head coach Rick Seeley. He became the first head coach in program history to reach the 100-win milestone and is now only three victories away from notching his 250th career win.

Tied at the TopQuinnipiac tied their second Top 5 team and third in the Top 10 last weekend when they played the No. 3/5 Harvard to a 2-2 tie on Saturday. The Bobcats' seven ties this season rank first among all teams in the nation while their three ties against ranked opponents are tied with Cornell for the most of any team in the country.

Once is a Coincidence…Twice is a PatternFlashback to the Bobcats' 2-1 victory over New Hampshire on Nov. 16th and you'll see that Quinnipiac didn't allow a single shot-on-goal for the Wildcats through the entire third period. Now fast forward to last Saturday's victory over Union and once again Quinnipiac didn't allow the Dutchwomen to record a shot-on-goal throughout the final 20 frame for the second time this season.

Representing Her CountryThe Swedish Ice Hockey Association has announced the 21 players who will compete in the Olympics women's ice hockey tournament in Sochi 2014 and among the chosen few is Quinnipiac women's ice hockey forward Erica Uden Johansson (Sundsvall, Sweden). This will be Uden Johansson's second appearance as a member of Team Sweden in the Olympics as she also competed in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Uden Johansson has a wealth of international experience playing for Sweden as she has competed in two International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championships (2009, 2012) as well as her appearance in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. She will now spend the remaining weeks before the Olympics training with the national team before they depart for Sochi and play in their first game just two days after The Opening Ceremony held on Friday, Feb. 7.

Home CookingQuinnipiac returns to the High Point Solutions Arena, site of the 2014 NCAA Women's Frozen Four, where they have been a dominant team with a 11-2-4 record which is good for the 8th-best home winning percentage (.765) in Division I. Their numbers across the board, especially on the offensive end, have benefitted greatly from the comforts of home ice.

Home

Road

Record

10-2-3

6-2-3

Winning %

.765

.682

Goals Scored

50

25

GF/GP

2.94

2.27

Goals Allowed

24

14

GA/GP

1.41

1.27

Scoring Margin

+26

+11

Power Play

15.9% (10/63)

14.0% (6/43)

Penalty Kill

83.3% (40/48)

89.5% (34/38)

Pilling it OnQuinnipiac's leading goal scorer this season continues to pile it on as Shiann Darkangelo added her team-leading fifth multi-goal game in the 3-2 loss to Rensselaer. Darkangelo now has 17 goals in 2013-14 which trails Clarkson's Jamie Lee Rattray for the lead amongst ECAC Hockey skaters.

Seventh HeavenQuinnipiac posted their seventh shutout of the season on the backs of Chelsea Laden's 11-save effort on the road against Union. With Laden (six) and Sydney Rossman's (one) total of seven shutouts, it puts Quinnipiac alone in second place behind Clarkson (10) and Minnesota (nine) for the most in the nation.

Clutch GeneAmanda Colin's late-game game-winning goal against Union is truly representative of the Bobcats' game-by-game approach to this season as they rank as the third-highest scoring team in the last five minutes of the third period in the nation. Quinnipiac is second in the country in goals (18), assists (29), points (47) and game-winning goals (4) with five minutes or less remaining in the third period this season.

Exclusive CompanyKelly Babstock played the part of distributor for Bobcats in the Dec. meeting against Union and RPI as she totaled four points, three of which were assists, with the third helper bringing her up to 100 career assists for the Quinnipiac senior forward. With 193 career points, just seven away from 200, Babstock joins Mercyhurst's Christine Bestland as the only two active players in the nation who make up the 100 career assist club.

She's Got a Nose for the NetDarkangelo posted another strong weekend as she went for two goals in the weekend series against Union and Rensselaer. Darkangelo transferred to Quinnipiac from Syracuse with a reputation as a goal scorer and has not disappointed as she currently is first on the team and ranks tied for sixth in the nation with 17 tallies to her name.

Putting it all TogetherOver the past four seasons, the Bobcats have been known to pick up their play in the second half of their schedule but there might be a changing of the guard in 2013-14. Before this season, the Bobcats are 45-26-9 (.594 winning percentage) since the 09-10 season in the first half of the schedule compared to 29-17-8 (.611) in the second half. But through the first half of this current season, the Bobcats went 14-2-5 (.786) and hope to continue their second half success to round out their most successful season in program history.

First Half vs. Second Half Success
Since the 2009-10 season, Quinnipiac is 59-28-14 (.653 winning percentage) throughout the first half of their schedule compared to 32-19-10 (.605) in the second half. The biggest discrepancy for Quinnipiac comes at home wherein the Bobcats are 31-13-7 (.676) at home in the first half and 18-6-7 (.692) in the second half from the High Point Solutions Arena.

Best in the Nutmeg StateThe annual tradition pitting all three Connecticut schools against one another began back in 2004 and with the Bobcats' triumph this season they now tied UConn atop the list for most Nutmeg Classic Championships with four. It is also their third title in four years while Kelly Babstock was named Tournament MVP for the second time in her career.

High RisersThe Bobcats' amazing start to the season has reflected in the national polls as the team just earned the No. 8 ranking in the USCHO.com and No. 9 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine weekly poll distributed early this week. Quinnipiac received 39 points among the USCHO.com votes and 34 in the USA Today poll as the Bobcats are entering their 15th straight week with a national ranking which also represents another record.

Brackett Busts ThroughIt took her 87 career games played but senior Olivia Brackett broke through with her first career goal in the 3-2 win over Yale. The goal came late in the second period with her team trying to erase an early 2-0 deficit. The longest-tenured Bobcat to never have scored received a crossing pass from Babstock and beat the Yale goalie five-hole much to the delight of the fans and teammates on-ice who mauled her at the far side boards.

Coming out of the WoodworkFreshman Emma Woods has made the most of her move back up to the top line with five points over the last nine games to snap a six-game scoreless streak that lasted for the better part of November. Despite the scoring draught, Woods still ranks third on the team with 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) while ranking tied for 8th in the country in points per game (0.71) among freshmen skaters.

How's your Weekend?Kelly Babstock vaulted into the lead for most points among any player in the nation with her seven point outburst at the Nutmeg Classic. She went for one goal and six assists including the third career game with at least five points in Friday's 8-0 win over RIT. Babstock earned MVP honors for the second time in her career at the event while scoring the most points of any player in the 10 year history of the two-game tournament.

Double DipBabstock and Shiann Darkangelo each went for five points in the Bobcats' 8-0 victory over RIT to make it the first game in the history of the program in which two players totaled five points each in the same game. For Babstock it was the third time in her career registering five points in a single game while the five points for Darkangelo set a new career high.

She Ain't Shy About ScoringEver since Shiann Darkangelo was moved from the second to the first line she has exploded with 12 goals and 8 assists for 20 points in 16 games since the move-up. Darkangelo picked up her second career hat trick against RIT and fifth multi-goal game of the season against Union which leads the team. She also became the 11th player in the history of the program to tally a hat trick.

Lending a HandKelly Babstock had quite the day passing the puck as she finished with five points and tied a single-game program record with four assists against RIT. The assist total matches her own program record set last season when she tallied four assists on Oct. 27, 2012 against Dartmouth.

Ross the BossRookie goalie Sydney Rossman was in complete control against RIT as she picked up a 25-save shutout in only her second career start. After compiling only two saves in a little under 30 minutes of action prior to the contest, Rossman denied all 25 of the Tigers' shots in net to pick up her first career shutout.

Shutout CityWith Sydney Rossman's shutout effort in net against RIT at the Nutmeg Classic, Quinnipiac is one of only a few teams in the country to have two goaltenders notch a shutout this season. Chelsea Laden is second in the nation with six while Rossman adds her name to the list to put the Bobcats in select company. Robert Morris, Harvard, Cornell, Mercyhurst, Wisconsin North Dakota and Vermont join Quinnipiac as one of eight teams to have accomplished the feat.

Six Pack in the HouseThe Bobcats' six goal second period tied a program record set back on Jan. 16, 2005 for most goals scored in a single period. It marked the first time Quinnipiac had scored at least five in a single frame since their Nov. 28, 2009 matchup against Sacred Heart which still stands as the largest single-game goal output (11).

Crazy EightThe trend this season on the offensive end for Quinnipiac has been with the play of their senior forward Kelly Babstock. Wearing the jersey number eight, Babstock has been the key to the Bobcats' success as all 19 games in which she has registered at least one point has not resulted in a Quinnipiac loss (16-0-3).

Laying Down the LawThe sensational ride for junior goalie Chelsea Laden continued in the Bobcats' last glimpse of action as she made 24 saves and allowed just two goals in 65 minutes of action. Laden has now allowed two goals or less in 22 of her 24 appearances this season. After another outstanding start in net her goals against average (1.35) save percentage (.935) and shutouts (six) all still rank in the Top 10 among the entire crop of goaltenders in the nation.

Beating the BestQuinnipiac's 3-2 victory over Boston College marked the third win ever for the Bobcats over a team ranked in the Top 5 and their fourth win ever over the Eagles in 22 attempts (4-15-3 record). Their win also marked the third straight season in which the Bobcats have taken down a Top 5 team after not having done so in their first 10 years of the program's existence.

Nation's BestAfter recording their sixth shutout of the season against RIT, the Bobcats have allowed just 38 goals through 28 games this season and have the nation's fifth-ranked scoring defense at 1.36 goals allowed per game. Quinnipiac men's hockey team has the nation's top-ranked scoring defense at 1.89 goals allowed per game to make for an all-around dominate defensive University.

Prestigious ScorerKelly Babstock joins Minnesota's Rachael Bona and Clarkson's Jamie Lee Rattray as the only three players in the nation to be ranked in the Top 10 in points per game average (1.39, 8th in NCAA), Top 15 goals per game (0.54, 15th in NCAA) and Top 10 assists per game (0.86, T6th in NCAA). She is the nation's sixth-highest leading scorer with 39 points (15-24-37) through 28 games.

Defense PrevailsChelsea Laden has been one of the nation's best statistical goalie all season but she has been aided by a tremendous all-around defensive effort that has limited their opponents to just 576 shots in 28 games (20.6 shots allowed per game) which ranks as the second-best in the nation to Clarkson at 18.3.

Shooting SpreeThe offense for the Bobcats this season has been fast-and-furious as the team has spent a majority of 2013-14 ranked in the Top 10 scoring offenses in the nation. They have benefitted from a significant advantage in possession as Quinnipiac was outshot for the first and only time all season against Clarkson (26-23). Despite disruption in the streak, the Bobcats currently lead their opponents' combined total shots by a colossal margin at 944-576.

Now That's the Way to StartQuinnipiac's 17-4-7 record this season marks their best record 28 games into a season in program history. The Bobcats are well on their way to breaking their previous best single-season record (2010-11) of 22-12-3 including a 12-9-1 conference mark.

Spreading the Love AroundThe Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team is ranked No. 3 in both their respective polls as each Bobcat hockey program is now ranked simultaneously for the 15th consecutive week and first time ever. They join Minnesota and Boston College as the only hockey programs in the country to have both their men's and women's teams ranked in the Top 10 of the national poll.

Domination from the DotQuinnipiac stands as the only team in the country with two players holding a spot in the Top 5 faceoff percentages of all Division I skaters. Senior Kelly Babstock (375-177, 67.9 %, 2nd in NCAA) and junior Shiann Darkangelo (161-96, 62.6%, 5th in NCAA) are both key contributors to the Bobcats' domination this season from the faceoff circle.

Penalty-FreeTwo key contributors for the Bobcats coming into this season have long been plagued by penalties as Kelly Babstock and Shiann Darkangelo came into this season with 106 and 105 penalty minutes, respectively. Through 28 games, Babstock has only committed eight penalties for 16 minutes, while Darkangelo lasted 11 games before committing her first penalty of the season against Yale.

Scoreless StreaksLaden has been a force all season in the cage as she now has accumulated two scoreless streaks of at least 130 minutes this season. She recently had a streak broken of 130:29 in the first period against Boston College as she lasted from that goal until the penalty shot allowed at the 12:03 mark of the third period against Cornell on Nov. 2. The stalwart goalie also reeled off a stretch earlier this season which lasted 189:09 over the course of four games.

Points Anyone?The Bobcats as a team have spread the puck around magnificently through their first 28 games as 16 of their 20 skaters this season have contributed at least one point. Only Minnesota-Duluth (18 individual point scorers) and Wisconsin (17) have combined for more players with at least one point on their team through the start of the season.

For the First TimeFive of the Bobcats' non-freshman have already posted their first career goal during this season after just 21 games. The run started with Anna Borgfeldt as she found the back of the net against Maine after playing in 74 career games without putting up a goal. Lindsey West followed with a blast from the point that found its way past the Maine goalie for her first career tally. Finally, just this past weekend against Colgate, after 44 games it was time for sophomore defenseman Cydney Roesler and Kristen Tamberg to find the scoresheet as they both picked up a goal in the victory over the Raiders. Finally, Olivia Brackett added her name to the list against Yale in the Nutmeg Classic Championship with her first career tally.

On The Plus SideQuinnipiac has outscored their opponents 75-38 this season which has played a big role in the Bobcats' entire contingent of skaters, only two of which are below +0 in their +/- rating this season.

Points GaloreSince her first game freshman year, not counting exhibitions, Kelly Babstock has recorded at least one point in 94 of the 119 games that Quinnipiac has not been shutout.

Shooting SpreePressuring from the opening faceoff, the Bobcats finished their game against Penn State with a 59-14 advantage in shots-on-goal. The 59 shots for the game was the most for any Quinnipiac squad in a game ending in regulation since Nov. 26, 2010 (87 games) when the Bobcats trounced Sacred Heart, 9-1.

Right BehindKelly Babstock comes into the 2013-14 with 154 points which stands second among active Division I players. With all the graduations from last season, in addition to this being an Olympic season help Babstock vault up the rankings and move into second place among active players.

Most career points among active Division I women's hockey players

Rank

Player

School

Points

1

Christine Bestland

MERCYHURST

211 (84 G, 127 A)

2

Kelly Babstock

QUINNIPIAC

193 (91 G, 102 A)

3

Jamie Lee Rattray

CLARKSON

163 (73 G, 90 A)

4

Carly Mercer

CLARKSON

140 (50 G, 90 A)

5

Kelly Terry

MINNESOTA

137 (49 G, 88 A)

6

Michelle Karvinen

NORTH DAKOTA

129 (55 G, 74 A)

6

Jillian Saulnier

CORNELL

129 (48 G, 81 A)

8

Kourtney Kunichika

RIT

128 (51 G, 77 A)

9

Sarah Davis

MINNESOTA

127 (44 G, 83 A)

10

Hannah Brandt

MINNESOTA

126 (47 G, 79 A)

Active Career LeaderBabstock enters her senior season behind only Mercyhurst's Christine Bestland as the active career leader in points among all Division I players but has the most career goals (91) of any active player in Division I.

Most career goals among active Division I women's hockey players

Rank

Player

School

Goals

1

Kelly Babstock

QU

91

2

Christine Bestland

MERCYHURST

84

3

Jamie Lee Rattray

CLARKSON

73

4

Kolbee McCrea

RIT

58

5

Michelle Karvinen

NORTH DAKOTA

55

Escape ArtistsQuinnipiac's thrilling come-from-behind 3-1 victory over St. Cloud State on Oct. 6 marked the first time since Jan. 8, 2011 (87 games) that Quinnipiac has overcome a first period deficit. The Huskies scored a power-play goal early in the first and the Bobcats were able to score three goals in the final eight minutes to secure the victory.